Press brake setup is a critical part of doing any bending job correctly.
By focusing on a few key areas—selection of tools and forming
processes, easy-to-understand setup sheets, and ISO
documentation—the press brake operator is in a much better position
to succeed.

Large or profound-radius bends are those in which the inside bend
radius exceeds eight times the material thickness, but is still too small
to move to the plate roll. At this point, a press brake operator has to
change his mindset before proceeding. This is not a typical bending
job.

Shop floors are filled with advanced technology, and this includes the press brake department. As bending guru Steve Benson explains, you still need skilled technicians to make the best use of that technology.

Selecting the press brake and tooling for a job involves much more than just making sure there’s enough brute force. You need to calculate how much tonnage the job requires, then determine the best machine and tooling to handle the tonnage.

In air forming, the bend angle does not depend exclusively on the angle of the die. So why does the die angle change? There are two separate but overlapping answers; one relates to narrow die openings, and the other pertains to larger dies.

Why calculate values such as bend allowance, outside setback, and bend deductions? Because sometimes you will need to work your way around a bend on a print, and you may not have all the information you need to complete a flat pattern.

Expensive options on a press brake won't guarantee knowledge transfer from a veteran press brake operator to a shop floor rookie. For knowledge transfer to occur, a shop needs experienced workers that can communicate and a younger work force eager to learn because they see a future in metal fabricating.